Alberta’s fentanyl response

Chief Medical Examiner

Dr. Elizabeth Brooks-Lim was appointed as the Chief Medical Examiner of Alberta on December 7, 2016. In this role, she oversees investigations into deaths across Alberta under the mandate of the Fatality Inquiries Act.

Dr. Elizabeth Brooks-Lim has a long-standing career in forensic pathology that spans the UK and Canada. It includes these highlights:

Interim Acting Chief Medical Examiner of Alberta

Deputy Chief Medical Examiner in Edmonton

Assistant Chief Medical Examiner in Calgary and Edmonton

Forensic Pathologist & Coroner in Saskatchewan

Home Office Accredited Forensic Pathologist in England

Clinical Lecturer in Forensic Medicine & Pathology in Scotland

She holds Board Certification equivalency in Forensic Pathology and Histopathology from the Royal College of Pathologists in the UK. As well, she has earned post-graduate and professional certifications from:

Stanford University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cornell University

Originally from the UK, Dr. Brooks-Lim earned her medical degree at the University of Bristol. Her post-graduate medical training in pathology and forensic pathology was completed in Leicester, Glasgow and Dundee.

Calgary and Edmonton offices

The OCME has offices in Calgary and Edmonton that each have 7 distinct, cross-functional working units:

Medical Examiner

Medical Investigator

Mortuary

Toxicology

Histology

Records

Administration

The OCME’s Medical Investigator Unit is available 24/7/365 – and its medical investigators are often the first point of contact for the deceased’s grieving relatives and friends and the deceased’s physician. These investigators interview them to determine if a death requires an investigation.

The 6 Assistant Chief Medical Examiners at the OCME perform an average of 4,000 post-mortem examinations – the physical review of deceased bodies – a year alongside the Chief Medical Examiner. They investigate nearly 20,000 deceased people each year.

Fatality Review Board

The Fatality Review Board oversees the work conducted by the OCME. The board’s independent panel is made up of a:

lawyer

physician

lay person

They review OCME case work and may recommend a public fatality inquiry into someone’s death in order to: